Three teams remain undefeated at the SA Rugby Under-18 Girls Week following eight Round 2 matches at Jeppe Boys High School in Johannesburg on Thursday, where DHL Western Province, Boland and hosts, Bidvest Waltons Golden Lions, will all go into the final day on Friday undefeated.

Both the SA Rugby Under-18 and Under-16 Girls Weeks will conclude on Friday.

Endurance Sees WP Unbeaten after SWD Clash on Thursday

DHL Western Province toppled the SWD Eagles on Thursday, with Boland and Bidvest Waltons Golden Lions beating Free State and Griquas respectively to remain the three undefeated teams at the SA Rugby Under-18 Girls Week.

Following the conclusion of another round of games, there are now just one more round of matches left to play on Friday in Johannesburg. It was a highly competitive round two, with close scores and no less than two draws, illustrating how closely the teams are matched.

The DHL WP side won 26-5 against SWD thanks to a superior second-half effort. The SWD side were still in the match at the break with the score at 7-5 but they failed to add to their solitary try scored by Amanda Klassen (wing). The Capetonians, meanwhile, scored three second times in the second stanza clinch the match.

Boland and Golden Lions Strive to Overcome

Boland outplayed Free State 17-5 in a tight clash. They enjoyed a 7-0 lead after Niveena Jantjies (flank) scored and Debra Fredericks (flyhalf) slotted the conversion.

The second half pretty much belonged to the Boland pivot, who scored a try and converted it plus added a penalty goal in the only scoring action of the second half.

This win was also Boland’s second in as many matches.

Tournament hosts the Bidvest Waltons Golden Lions, had to dig deep to overcome Griquas. The home side held a slender 5-0 lead at the interval which proved vital. Both sides scored a converted try in the second half, however, the Golden Lions prevailed thanks to their first half advantage the win allowed them to keep their undefeated status.

Competitive Fixtures Produce Draws and Narrow Wins

The competitive nature of matches continued when in the next game Border and the KZN Sharks shared the honours 7-7, with defense ruling over attack for most of the match. A second half try by Border the fullback, Ayakha Myeko, and converted by Aphelele Wanyaza (flyhalf), got Border on the scoreboard. The Sharks responded though with a Nonjabulo Ngobese (fullback) try. Mary Zulu (No 10) succeeded with the conversion to tie the game.

There was also a draw between Old Mutual Zimbabwe and Blue Bulls, who shared the spoils at 5-5. The Zimbabweans led 5-0 lead at halftime and looked set to keep their winning run intact before a try by the Blue Bulls flank Lesego Mdhluli equalled matters.

The match between Griffons and Pumas proved a hugely contested one, with the Northern Free Staters emerging 20-17 winners. The scores were tied 5-all at halfway but a fourth try gave the Griffons the edge over the Pumas in the end, who could only managed three tries.

The Schutte-twins, playing for the Griffons, will have mixed emotions of this match though, as Bianca (No 8) scored a try while Danele (centre) was red-carded.

The Border Country Districts had an impressive start to their day and managed to beat the Leopards 32-5 while scoring six tries to one. They were 17-0 up already at the break from scoring three tries and added another three in the second half. Lively No 9 Uthimna Kanana scored four tries as she showed her potential to the appreciating crowd.

The only blow-out in today’s matches came from EP Elephants, who had way too much class for Limpopo Blue Bulls. The Eastern Cape side scored seven tries without any reply in their 39-0 romp with the talented fullback, Thandolwethu Hena, bagging a hat-trick. The Elephants were 24-0 in front after the first half and continued their dominance in the second half.

 

SA Rugby U18 Girls Week Round 2 Results, on Thursday, 20 June:

Griffons 20-17 Pumas
Border Country Districts 32-5 Leopards
Boland 17-5 Free State
Bidvest Waltons Golden Lions 12-7 Griquas
Border 7-7 Sharks
EP Elephants 39-0 Limpopo Blue Bulls
Old Mutual Zimbabwe 5-5 Blue Bulls
DHL Western Province 26-5 SWD Eagles

 

Click here to read the U16 Girls Round 1 Review here

Click here to read the U18 Girls Round 1 Review here

 

SA Rugby U16 Girls Round 3 Fixtures on Friday, 21 June:

09h00: Leopards v Free State Cheetahs
09h00: Boland v Griffons
10h15: Valke v Pumas
10h15: Griquas v Border CD
11h30: Bidvest Waltons Golden Lions v Sharks
11h30: EP Elephants v Limpopo Blue Bulls
12h45: Border v DHL Western Province
12h45: Blue Bulls v SWD Eagles

 

SA Rugby U18 Girls Round 3 Fixtures on Friday, 21 June:

09h00: Griquas v Free State
09h00: Leopards v Pumas
10h15: Border Country Districts v Griffons
10h15: Boland v Bidvest Waltons Golden Lions
11h30: EP Elephants v Sharks
11h30: Limpopo Blue Bulls v Border
12h45: Old Mutual Zimbabwe v SWD
14h00: DHL Western Province v Blue Bulls

 

Photo 1 Caption: The final action of the SARU U18 Girls Week Round 2 featured DHL Western Province and South Western Districts at Jeppe High School in Johannesburg, where the coastal team took the match honours by 26 points to five. Photo: Supplied

 

With editing by gsport